I was looking through my whisky collection for something with a healthy age statement to carry with me to my father’s house a couple of weeks ago. He likes it when I bring something new that he can be the first to pull the cork on. I bought this bottle a few months back from the U.K. and had been very interested in opening it. So, here ya go dad- pop a freshie! The BenRiach Temporis is a peated offering that boasts an in-house blend of 21 year old whisky that’s from 4 different sources: virgin oak, ex-bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. This could be very good or a muddled mess- this should showcase the distillery master blender’s skill set. It’s bottled at 46% and set me back $153. It’s caramel gold and very oily in the tasting glass. Sparse legs and tiny drops form and get left behind after a quick spin. The nose opens with earthy peat, toffee chews and sherry. Some charred oak and malty fruits mingle quite nicely after you give it some appropriate time and a little agitation in the glass. There’s no hints of alcohol or heat. The palate ushers in stewed fruits: both of the tropical and orchard variety. It leans more towards apples and pears until after the midpoint, at which it gets more tropical. Once the fruitiness gives way the peat and earthy mushroom notes creep in alongside the light oak and vanilla. The mouthfeel is very impressive- the liquid actually has a very soothing, aged feel. It’s a nice balance between watery and medium-oily. Creamy is the word I’m looking for here. The flavors do turn a bit muddled heading into the medium-length finish. The ABV leaves a nice warming effect, with sherry and toffee rounding out the final oak notes. Overall, it’s a wonderful whisky. There’s a fine line where I’m not sure if the flavors are expertly blended to not make anything stand out, or if it’s just the muddled effect. I doubt any of the juice used is from first-fill casks (other than the virgin oak, obviously), but that keeps any single notes from shining and also allows the older whisky characteristics to play a predominant role. I really think a finishing cask would’ve masked the good and the bad, so cheers to BenRiach for not going that route. But, there’s something making me wish there was a cask that took the leading role here- I don’t know why, because I did enjoy this bottle. Fun note: after opening this for my dad he ended up siphoning off 2/3 of the bottle into a couple of flasks to keep in his golf bag- so, after my initial drams and 1-2 samples this bottle was dispatched in a matter of days. If that doesn’t speak volumes, nothing does. 4-4.25 stars because the price point is leaking onto the higher end. Cheers.